Featheredge



Sept- 2, 1952 E. A. WHALEN y2,608,852-

FEATHEREDGE Filed July 9, 1949 j@ @f-YA. 2L/MM @a/2a@ Patented Sept. 2, Y1952 Wha-Lite P-rqducts. Chiag, Ill.,l a copartner ship Application July 9, 1949, Serial No. 103,885

claims. (c1. 'z2- 136) -My `,invention relates. to a plasterers tool and more specically to a featheredge which may in its preferred dimensions orin greater length be employed also as a plasterers rod.

'"One of the objects of thepresent invention is toprovide a featheredge whichis lighter kand more convenient to manipulate than vthose previouslyA known, whichv is rigid and incapable: of Warpinglso as to distort the true edge thereof, and' which has a far greater life than those at present employed. Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description andl'drawings, of which:`

Figl'l is a perspective view of the featheredge; y A.lig.-2 "is a sectional viewthereof which may be considered as being vtaken on the line 2-2 of 1,;looking in the direction of the arrows; llig.l3 is a perspective view of one of the end closure members employed in the practice of my invention; and

l Fig. 4 is `an Aenlarged perspective lview of one end .ofthe featheredge.

i; As is Awell knownY in the plasterngftrade,l a eatheredge is an implement for working D.the plaster so "as to'eifect straight and'true corners and edges. Traditionally, a featheredgev isconstructed of a piece of lumber about -ve or'six feet long, six inches wide and one inch thick, where one'longitudinal edge is beveled so as to produce an acute angle along the length thereof, which acute angled. edge constitutes the working edge of the implement, and the portion of the board rearward'of the working edge provides a gripping surface for the hands of the plasterer. In the interes'tfof lightness the rear edges of the implement are tapered adjacent its ends.

"iltlwill'be evident from this construction that many'idis'advantages inhere therein which are attributable to the woodenk composition of the featheredge.- VThe working edge being'thin,` it isI easily abraded away to destroy its accuracy. The constant wetting and drying to which the implement'isfexposed leads rapidly to warping `or distortion of the board. Because of the become continually heavier.

" My invention Yis directed to the solution of these many disadvantages of the traditional ill accumulate more and more water so as to Wooden featheredge 'by fabricating 'the implement of light metal of theznature of aluminum or. magnesium alloys and, as a necessary con-- comitant, fabricating such a metallic featheredge of inexpensive components in a novel fashion so as to produce asmooth surfaced, attractively .appearing and easy to handle implement. v:My featheredge follows externally the same .pattern as the traditional. tool since plasterers are thoroughly acquainted with the use ofso formed an implement. It possesses the bevel I0, the acuteangled working edge I2, the flat sided rearward portion I4 and the tapers I6. It is formed ofv two typesof stock both of which may be and preferably are extruded elements, and a major advantage of my featheredge .lies in this construction in that the component members may be formed from the two types of extrusions by a simple cutting to length in addition to a small amount of subsequent fashioning. The first of these members, which hereafter will be referred to asthe body member I8, may be considered as la' ,tubularv extrusion having three rectangular sides, 2U', 22, and 24 which furnish the rearward grasping surface of the featheredge, and a fourth inclined side 26 providing the acute angled working vwedge I2. The vdimensions of an example might be a thickness of about one inch, a width of about six inches, and a bevel to create about a thirty degree relatively sharp angle at the working edge I2. This extrusion may be cut into lengths of five or six feet for use as a featheredge or longer for a rod. After cutting the tubular extrusion to proper length the tapered ends Vare formed by cutting a piece through the sides 20 and 22 from the back 24 to the ends 2lv at anA angle so as to remove the end portions lof the side 24 with `long narrow triangular pieces of the top and bottom portions 20 and 22 attached thereto, the cut being made normal to the plane of the bottom face 22, the end-taper corners 29 being rounded to smooth the contour of the implement. Inthis form the body member will furnish an implement having generally the same conguration as a traditional featheredge excepting that the tapered portion I6 andthe ends 2l will be open.

To effect the closure vof theopen ends and the covering of the-cut edges of vthe tapers vI6vso as to avoid smoothing and polishing operations thereon and furnish a surface smooth to handle, two closure members 28 are employed. As one closure member is the inverse counterpart of the other, only one will be described.V This closure member'isan extrusionhaving a generally channel shaped cross section consisting of a web 30 and two flanges 32 wherein the web extends outwardly beyond the adjoining portions of the flanges 32 to define lips 34. The dimensions'of this member are such that the flanges 32 t snugly between the sides and 22 of the body member I8 and the lips 34 project outward from the anges32 a distance about equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of the sides 20 and 22. The lips are rounded on their outer edges as at 36. These elements are formed by cutting the extrusion to length, two pieces being required for the completion of each featheredge to closel the two ends and tapers thereof.

After cutting to length the flanges 134 are cut away as at 38 at a distance from one end of the piece approximately equal to the length of the taper of the body portion I8. This permits the member 2S to be bent at this point at an angle about equal to the angle between the taper I6 andthe end 27 to divide the member into a rtaper closingportion 4B and anend closing portion 42. Therradius of curvature is about equal to the radius of .the rounded end-taper corner. Likewise theflips 3d are cut away to the flanges 32 fromthe bend at 3i! over the length of the end closing portion 42. terminates in a beveled cut 44, the angle of which is equal to the. angle of the bevel .of the body portion.

. The body member I8 and the closure members 28are assembled in the following fashion. The fianges S2 of the taper closing portion 4i) of the closure member 28 are inserted into the opening 48 lcreated by cutting the taper i6 on the body member i8. These t snugly within the opening 46 and theY lips 34 ,project over the out edges of sides 2li and 22 of the body member so as to cover them and provide a rounded surface for this section .of the featheredge. It should be noted that the-taper cut is initiated on side 24 by a short perpendicular c ut through side 24 to provide a shoulder 48 about equal to the thickness of the web 30. The ilanges 32 'and webSD abut against .this shoulder 48'. Any variance in alignment between the webs 3@ andthe side 24 maybe corrected by grinding. `The bend 38 is formed such that upon this insertion of the flanges 32 Within the taperY I6 and against shoulder 48 the end closure portions 42 will lie wholly within the open ends 2l of the body portion, the iianges 50 of the end closure portion 42 and the beveled cut 44 in the. end thereof fitting snugly within the open ends 2 ofthe body portion I8. The body portion-and flanges are then pierced to receive rivets 2 and the two closure members 28 are riveted to the body portionl. As the implement is usually used, the plasterer will clean the featheredge of adhering ,plaster by hitting itgend against the licor. iin-order that the` shock may be wholly taken by the body member i8 and not bythe rivets 52, the end closure portions 42 may be recessed slightly inward'of the ends/2'! of the body member, the spacing being onrthe order of one sixteenth of an inch, as at 54. y Having thus described an illustrative embodiment of my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desirefto secure by Letters Patent is: l. A lightweight metallic featheredge comprisinea body member formed of a length offtubular light metal extrusion-,having vthree sides rectangular to each other and an obligue fourth side between the( parallel sidesio .create Aand acute Vangled edge, said member being-tapered on a plane substantially normal-to the planes of .the

The end closing portion parallel sides and on aline oblique to the ends so as to remove a substantial portion of the ends of the side which is normal to the parallel sides as well as long thin triangular pieces from the end portions of the parallel sides producing continuous openings in the tapers and ends of the body member, closure members for said openings in the body member formed of light metal channel stock of a length to close the openings and having flanges spaced to fit closely between the parallel sides of the body member, each member being obliquely terminated at one end on the same angle as the body member bevel to nt therein and being bent intermediate its ends through the same angle as the angle between the taper and the end to dei-lne a taper closing portion and an end closing portion, and means for securing the free edges of the channel flanges inside the tubular cavity of the body member.

2. A lightweight metallic featheredge as claimed in claim l wherein. the flanges lof the closure membersare removed at .thel point vof bending tofacilitate the bending thereof.

3. A lightweight metallic featheredge as claimed in claim 2 wherein the closure members have Alips formed thereon over the length of the taper closing portionv extending outward from the flanges to cover thecut edges ofthe taper.

4. A lightweight Vmetallic featheredge as claimed in claim 3 wherein the tool edge defining edges of the lips are rounded. A,

5. A lightweight metallic featheredgecomprising a body member formed of a length of tubular light metal extrusion having three sides rectangular to each other and an oblique fourth side between the parallel sidesto create an acute angled edge, said member being tapered on a lplane substantially normal to the planes of the Vparallel sides and on a line oblique to the ends so as to remove a substantial portion of the ends of the side which is normal to the parallelsides as well as long thin triangular pieces from the ends of the parallel sides to result in a continuous opening in the taper and end of each end portion thereof, closure members for said openings in theextending outwardly on each sidebeyond saidv flanges to denne lateral lips on saidl stock. each member being obliquely terminated at one end on the same angle asgth'e body member bevel to t therein, and having a portion 0f the flanges removed and being bent at a point intermediate its ends to define a taper closing portion 'and an end closing portion, the lips being removed from said end closing portions, and means for securing the free edges of the channel flanges inside the tubular cavity of thc-'body member' such that the web and lips cover the taper opening to vclose it. and lthe web lies within the end opening Yto close it.

Number l ,Date

Y j vlaune' 866,984, Y Thomson sept. 24,1907 1,299,630 Mccaskey .June 12. 1917 

